Lunasin and its versatile health-promoting actions

Abstract

The present review focuses on the potential health benefits of lunasin reported to date. Epidemiological studies on human and animals have demonstrated lower incidence of various types of cancer and other chronic diseases related to consumption of diets containing high amounts of soybean products. Naturally present in soybean, lunasin is the most isolated bioactive peptide with 43 amino acid residues, some of them creating an RGD motif, chromatic-binding helical region and an aspartic acid tail. Due to the three multiple functional domains, the intriguing peptide serves as promising candidate in exerting many-sided health-beneficial actions, such as antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic, and anticancerous activities. Depending on the soybean genotype, the lunasin content in the crop varies from 0.5 - 8.1 mg/g of seed. Besides soybean, it has also been identified in wheat Solanum nigrum, rye, barley, amaranth seeds, triticale and quinoa. In the current review, the structure, bioavailability, and molecular mechanisms involved in health-promoting effects of lunasin have also been summarized.